Personal fitness

China's fitness equipment export industry has been experiencing extremely high growth rates in the past few years. In the period January to July 2005, overseas shipments in the line from China suppliers amounted to US$908 million, an increase of 42 percent from the same period in the previous year. If this rate of growth is sustained for the rest of the year, which seems very likely, overseas shipments will cross the US$1.8 billion mark. However, this is slightly less than the 59 percent year-on-year growth rate registered in 2005. One of the key reasons for the steep rise in exports is the fact that the industry is still young and developing. In addition, with less than 200 makers currently involved in exporting, competition is not as high as in other industries in China. New manufacturers, therefore, continue to join the line.